Football Headline

Thursday September 6, 2012Harry: Top 10 Memorable SEC Openers

GAINESVILLE,
Fla. -- For 20 straight seasons, from 1963 to 1982, the University of Florida
opened Southeastern Conference play against Mississippi State.

To
be honest (and with all due respect to the Bulldogs), the game rarely generated
much big-game buzz. And to be equally honest, the middling Gators of so many of
those years were half to blame, obviously.

Then
came 1996, the year SEC schedule-makers went bold and basically guaranteed
plenty of conference hype and drama before the calendar even flipped from
summer to fall, in most cases.

Florida
vs. Tennessee to open the league season.

Every
year.

The
UF-UT rivalry may not have rivaled Alabama-Auburn in ferocity, but during the ‘90s
(and a little beyond) it certainly trumped the Iron Bowl in relevancy.

And
entertainment.

“You
can’t spell Citrus Bowl with a ‘U’ and a ‘T,’” a certain visor-wearing (and
throwing) Florida coach said on more than one occasion during that era.

Starting
in ’96, the UF-UT winner won the SEC Eastern Division five of the next six
years, with each team claiming the national championship once along the way. It
was The Game of the SEC season and one of the biggest national showdowns
of each football season.

The
absolute biggest game in September, by far.

That
brings us to our Week 2 list, which will focus on significant SEC openers in
Florida’s football history. How can those marquee Tennessee matchup not
dominant, right?

Here’s
our 10:

1

Sept.
21, 1996

Florida
35, Tennessee 29

Knoxville,
Tenn.

Quite
simply, it was billed as the biggest game in the history of the state of
Tennessee.

Even
more simply, it was a blowout -- regardless of what the scoreboard may have
said at the end of the game.

Peyton
Manning and the second-ranked Volunteers had been looking to this game for
months -- especially having been drilled 62-37 in Gainesville the year before
-- and an NCAA-record crowd of 107,608 packed Neyland Stadium for this
monstrosity.

Less
than five minutes into the second quarter, the Gators led 35-0.

“We
would’ve liked to have been accused of running up the score, but it didn’t work
out that way,” UF coach Steve Spurrier said.

Danny
Wuerffel threw four touchdowns and fourth-ranked UF forced six UT turnovers,
including four interceptions of Manning, who passed for 492 yards on 65
attempts, with a couple fourth-quarter TDs, the second with 10 seconds left to
make it look close.

It
was Florida’s fourth straight win in the series.

2

Sept.
15, 1990

Florida
17, Alabama 13

Tuscaloosa,
Ala.

To
this day, Spurrier credits this game for changing the SEC attitude of the
Gators.

A
week after crushing Oklahoma State 50-7 in the debut coaching his alma mater,
Florida fell behind by 10 at the stadium named for Paul “Bear” Bryant, then
rallied for 17 straight points, taking the lead in the final period on a
blocked punt, to steal the program’s first win at Tuscaloosa since 1963.

“We
were behind, on the road, against a big-time conference opponent and were able
to come away with a victory,” Spurrier said. “That really made it a special
win, not just for me and the team, but all Gators. This is one we’ll remember
and hopefully help us down the stretch.”

Shane
Matthews threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, but it was Jimmy Spencer’s
blocked punt, that Richard Fain fell on in the end zone for a touchdown, that
made the difference.

“I
think we’ve got something special here,” fullback Dexter McNabb said. “It’s
tough to say ... but I don’t think we’d have pulled this one out last
year.”

Or
many a year before that.

3

Sept.
19, 1998

Tennessee
20, Florida 17 (OT)

Knoxville,
Tenn.

The
first overtime in Florida’s football history ended with Tennessee’s first win
in the bloodbath series in six years.

A
season after Peyton Manning was gone, also.

UF
kicker Collins Cooper pushed a 32-yard field goal wide right on Florida’s only
overtime possession -- moments after UT counterpart Jeff Hall made good on a
41-yarder -- and a record crowd of 107,653 rejoiced by storming the field and
tearing down the Neyland goal posts.

“I
don’t know who did well or who didn’t do well,” Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer
said. “All I know is we won the game.”

Wideout
Travis McGriff did pretty well for the Gators, catching nine passes for 176
yards, but UF had five turnovers, including four fumbles, negating a 396-235
edge in total yards.

UT
had no turnovers.

“We
tried to catch up for all the turnovers the last few years,” Spurrier said.
“Maybe we did.”

How
big was the game?

The
Vols went on to finish 13-0 and claim the national championship.

4

Oct.
1, 1960

Florida
18, Georgia Tech 17

Gainesville,
Fla.

Ray
Graves was an assistant for Georgia Tech legend Bobby Dodd for nine seasons
before coming to Florida for his first head-coaching job.

In
his third game, pupil faced mentor -- and pupil won.

One
of the biggest victories in Gators history, in fact.

With
just over six minutes to go in the game, UF drove 85 yards, with quarterback
Larry Libertore pitching an option to Lindy Infante for a 4-yard touchdown with
just 33 seconds to play to pull within a point of the 10th-ranked Yellow
Jackets.

Graves
did not play for the tie.

Libertore
dropped, rolled and hit Jon MacBeth for the 2-point conversion and a dramatic
one-point victory that sent the Florida Field crowd into a tizzy. And
chant.

Two!
Two! Two!

We
wrecked Tech!

On
the sidelines dressed out for the Gators that day: Bobby Dodd Jr.

5

Sept.
11, 1993

Florida
24, Kentucky 20

Lexington,
Ky.

Quarterbacks
Terry Dean and Danny Wuerffel combined for seven interceptions, yet the Gators
had one last desperation chance from the Kentucky 28-yard line.

That’s
where Wuerffel lofted a picture-perfect pass to walk-on wideout Chris Doering,
who inexplicably snuck behind the Wildcats secondary for the game-winning
touchdown with just three seconds left, allowing the seventh-ranked Gators to
escape Commonwealth Stadium with a win.

“I
couldn’t believe there was no one near me,” Doering said.

A
lot of Gators couldn’t believe they won.

“We’re
very fortunate,” Spurrier said. “The other team outplayed us, but somehow we
made a play at the end to win the game.”

The
game was just the second of Wuerffel’s collegiate career and he made plenty of
mistakes (three picks), but he showed enough moxie and heroics for Spurrier to
tab the redshirt freshman as his starter a week later against Tennessee.

“I
wasn’t thinking about the interceptions,” Wuerffel said. “We knew that last
drive was it.”

6

Sept.
14, 1991

Florida
35, Alabama 0

Gainesville,
Fla.

Spurrier
was furious when an article in The Birmingham News a couple days before
the sixth-ranked Gators faced the 16th-ranked said he predicted a blowout win
at booster meeting earlier in the week.

True
or not, Spurrier was right.

After
an ugly, sloppy, six-point first half, the Gators erupted for four second-half
touchdowns, including three scoring passes from Matthews, and handed the
16th-ranked Crimson Tide their worst shutout defeat since a 40-0 loss to rival
Auburn in 1957.

Tailback
Errict Rhett rushed 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown, while the Gators
rolled up 467 yards of offense. Going in, UF was 0-7 all-time vs. Alabama at
home.

“I
did not predict a big margin of victory,” Spurrier said afterward. “I did tell
a group of Golden Gators, a group of guys who have been around since the ‘20s
and ‘30s, that if we finally beat Alabama at home I’d dedicate the game to
those guys.”

He
paused.

“So
this one’s for them.”

7

Sept.
18, 1999

Florida
23, Tennessee 21

Gainesville,
Fla.

No
UF defensive player (OK, maybe Wilber Marshall vs. USC) ever had a night like
Alex Brown had against Vols quarterback Tee Martin and the defending national
champions.

Brown,
the sophomore defensive end, sacked Martin five times, batted down two passes
and intercepted in another in a nationally televised demolition job that
rocketed him to notoriety (and eventual first-team All-America status)
overnight.

“When
we’re at home, we don’t lose,” Brown said.

They
almost did. UF quarterback Doug Johnson passed for 343 yards and three
touchdowns to stake the fourth-ranked Gators to a 23-7 lead, but the No. 2 Vols
closed the gap to two points and Johnson’s second interception gave UT the ball
with less than four minutes to go inside Florida territory.

UF
linebacker Keith Kelsey smothered Jamal Lewis on fourth-and-3 from the UF 43
with two minutes remaining, with the Gators running the clock out from
there.

It
was Florida’s sixth win over Tennessee in seven seasons.

8

Sept.
8, 1984

Florida
21, LSU 21

Gainesville,
Fla.

It
was the only SEC blemish on UF’s record during that tumultuous ’84 season. And
it wasn’t even a loss.

The
Gators took a 14-0 lead against the Tigers, who were coached at the time by
Bill Arnsparger, making his collegiate debut. LSU, though, stormed back for 21
straight points, including a Jeff Wickersham-to-Earl Curtis touchdown, plus a
two-point conversion early in the fourth quarter, to go up 21-14.

After
Lorenzo Hampton tied the score with a 15-yard touchdown run midway through the
period, the Tigers marched into UF territory, but Juan Betanzos was wide left
on a 41-yard field goal, giving the Gators a chance to win the game.

Kerwin
Bell led Florida down the field, hitting Ricky Nattiel for a deep gain to the
LSU 27, but time expired before the Gators could get their field goal team onto
the field.

The
outcome gave UF an 0-1-1 record (having lost to Miami the week before in
Tampa), but the Gators finished the season 9-1-1 during a campaign when Coach
Charley Pell resigned (replaced by offensive coordinator Galen Hall) and the
program was placed on NCAA probation for multiple rules violations.

9

Sept.
27, 1969

Florida
47, Mississippi 35

Jackson,
Miss.

The
“Super Sophs” were no flukes.

A
week after bombarding No. 7 Houston with 59 points in the season opener, John
Reaves, Carlos Alvarez and the No. 12 Gators went to the Magnolia State and
rang up more than 500 yards against the Bulldogs.

It
was an ideal start SEC start -- on the road, no less -- for a young team,
especially coming off such a head-swelling blowout a week earlier. The Gators
went on to win their first six games for only the second time in program
history.

10

Oct.
7, 1933

Florida
31, Sewannee 0

Jacksonville,
Fla.

The
SEC’s first season was 1933 and both UF and Sewannee were charter members,
making this the inaugural league contest for each institution.

Maybe
not memorable, but certainly significant.

Jack
Henderson threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Wallace Brown for Florida’s first
SEC points in school history. Henderson later intercepted a pass and return it
73 yards to set up a score and had a 19-yard for a touchdown.

A
couple touchdowns from Charlie Stoltz and a 62-yard sprint from Herb McAnley
accounted for all of UF’s scoring that day.

The
Gators went on to finish 5-3-1 that season, including 2-3 in the SEC.

For
Sewannee, the loss was its first of 37 straight as a conference member before
leaving the league in 1940 without ever winning an SEC game.